History:
Thomas Guy, a philanthropist, served as a governor for St Thomas's Hospital. Concerned for patients refused admission to St Thomas's Hospital, he decided to found an institution that would exclude neither incurables nor lunatics. Guy's Hospital opened in 1725 and was intended to provide accommodation for 400 patients. The Guy's site is close to the original site for the 'Old St Thomas's Hospital' which was closed to enable the development of the railway. During the restoration of St Thomas's church in the 1950s the original female operating theatre was discovered in the attic space of the church. In use from 1812 -62, it is the only known surviving operating theatre from the 19th century in the UK. The theatre and the herb garret that was used for storing and curing herbs have been fully restored to a museum. The medical schools of Guy's and St Thomas's reunited in 1982 and in 1993 the hospitals merged forming the Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Trust with services being organised across both sites.

Architecture:
In 1722 Thomas Dance was commissioned to prepare a design for the new hospital. These consisted of three storey buildings around a double courtyard plan. The wards were on the upper floors with open galleries to the courtyard at ground level. The central open colonnade, restored in 1899 and paved in mosaic, still joins the two remaining courtyards. The wards were airy and light although box beds arranged around the walls took no account of the position of the windows thus restricting ventilation. The grand pedimented entrance front was added in the 1770s by Richard Jupp. The East Wing was destroyed during the war although the West Wing designed by Richard Jupp survived. Recent developments at Guy's include: New Guy's House, a surgical block, in 1961; Guys Tower includes dental and paediatric services, in 1974; and Thomas Guy House for outpatients, in 1998. A new medical school building, New Hunts House opened in 1999 and is part of Kings College London.